Do you have a WordPress website? Are you less than pleased with your high bounce rates and lack of conversions? If you want to generate more email subscribers and sell more products and services, you can install WordPress pop-up plugins to help!

WordPress pop-up plugins lead casual readers toward becoming loyal customers. But there are a ton of WordPress plugins to choose from. How do you know which one is best? You certainly don’t want to choose a plugin that annoys your readers or doesn’t function the way you need it to. Have no fear! We’re here to help! Here are the best WordPress Plugins of 2022, in no particular order, including the pros and cons of each. Because let’s face it, nothing is perfect. Except for a hot cup of tea and cookie in the afternoon.

Our Favorite WordPress Pop-Up Plugins for Better Conversion in 2022

1. OptinMonster

OptinMonster boasts of more than a million users and is one of the most popular lead generation software options out there. This plugin allows you to use prebuilt templates to create an offer, target and personalize your offers according to user data, and test and adjust your offers in real-time.

Pros of OptinMonster

Format variety

There are so many flexible format options! You can choose from more than 75 premade templates for everything from popups to full-screen. Users may also adjust the templates in just about any way you choose, or you can build your own template. 

Intuitive use

The last thing you want to do is spend way too much time trying to figure out how to work the plugin. It won’t take long at all to understand or set up. The drag-and-drop builder makes plugins easy to set up and customize.

Easy A/B testing

Let’s face it, sometimes we need to try some options to see what works best. It’s simple with this plugin to test different headlines, content, and layouts with various audiences to see what converts best.

Advanced targeting

One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to conversion messages. Page-level targeting allows you to get super specific about who you reach with which messages, making them more effective.

Helpful analytics

You have to be able to measure results to understand what works. This plugin includes built-in statistics so you can see which campaigns convert best.

Improves Bounce Rates

Please don’t go! It’s a missed opportunity each time a visitor leaves our site. This plugin’s exit-focused technology displays a targeted message when visitors are leaving your site, just to try one more time to convert them.

Redirects and targets traffic

You want visitors to find the information on your site that’s most likely to convert them. This plugin sends visitors to pages of your choice through customized buttons.

Cons of OptinMonster

Pricing

There’s no such thing as a free lunch? OptinMonster does not offer a free version. It’s $9-$49 a month, depending on how you want to use the plugin.

Multisite setup

You have to start on OptinMonster’s SAAS website, then move over to finish it on WordPress. That can be a little confusing for some users. You might want to hire a website designer to do this step.

2. Sumo

More than 37,000 online businesses use Sumo to grow their email lists and convert website visitors into customers, according to the plugin’s website. Sumo can help you grow your email list through timed popups across your site, schedule email drip campaigns, win back customers who leave their carts, and increase average purchase value, among other things. It’s a solid choice of all the WordPress popup plugins you can add to your site.

Pros of Sumo

Free version

You can try it out! Sumo has a free version that lets you use limited features as you build your audience.  

Creative options

We love flexibility. With this plugin, you can create custom popups from templates for just about any customer situation you can imagine.

Design view

There’s none of that saving and previewing business. On this plugin, you can see what your popup design looks like while you’re working on it. No need to switch back and forth to previews.

Cons of Sumo

Free version branding

While there is a free version, it displays a notification bar on your site that tells visitors that you’re using the free option. This may seem unprofessional or even annoy users.

Learning curve

Sumo’s templates and design options are not as intuitive as some other plugins. You have to get used to working on their site.

Pricing

Yes, we know we were happy about the free version, and it’s great that Sumo offers it. But, as you would expect, you get better features with the premium version and it costs $39 a month. 

3. TrustPulse

TrustPulse, which is an OptinMonster company, claims to increase your site’s conversions by 15% through social proof. Of all WordPress pop-up plugins, this one shows strategic, social-proof popups to build trust, and encourage signups and purchases. 

So what does that mean? For example, if you’re shopping on a clothing boutique’s website, but you’ve never visited the brick-and-mortar store or purchased from them online, you’ll probably be hesitant to make a purchase. With this plugin, as you’re shopping, you receive popups telling you when someone else just made a purchase. The popups help minimize your risk and make you want to buy something. After all, other people are buying clothes there.

Pros of TrustPulse

Creates FOMO

The things we do because we fear missing out! This is TrustPulse’s secret to success. It creates a fear of missing out among users, making them want to participate, whether that participation is signing up for a newsletter or making a purchase. 

Strong tracking

You need to understand your visitors to make them customers. With this plugin, you can track any activity on your site, like purchases, downloads, and registrations in real-time, and share them with your users in a live stream. Showing these actions, which even can be labeled “on fire,” is how the FOMO referenced above is created. For example, your site can display a flame icon with text that reads “50 people purchased this product in the past hour.” Just knowing that makes people want to buy.

Customizable notifications

Better messaging equals more conversions. Reach who you want, when you want, when you create a custom message with this plugin. 

Intuitive setup

You want your plugin to be quick to set up and easy to use. TrustPulse brags of a simple setup of customizable design that fits any site’s branding and takes minimal time to set up. 

Cons of TrustPulse

No free option

Apparently, TrustPulse used to have a free option, but it’s gone. Pricing ranges from $5 to $39 a month, depending on the features you need. But, there is a 14-day money-back guarantee.

4. Bloom

Bloom is an email opt-in plugin built by ElegantThemes, one of WordPress’s most popular themes. It boasts of more than 700,000 users for its six email opt-in display choices. 

Pros of Bloom

Tons of templates

We love design options! With this plugin, you can pick from more than 100 customizable templates to build your email plugin.

Embedded in WordPress

Bloom works from a custom panel within WordPress, so you don’t have to go back and forth to an external site. 

A/B testing

Trying out messages helps determine what works. Compare the performance between popups to determine which converts best. 

Theme bundles

It’s great to get more for your money. Because it’s made by ElegantThemes, you get a better deal if you use one of those themes and bundle it with the plugin.

Cons of Bloom

Speed

Some users have complained that Bloom slows down WordPress. No one wants that. You can always run an SEO audit afterward to ensure you’re using the best WordPress plugins for page load speed. Or, install others that will help mitigate this issue.

No visual customizer

You can’t see changes you’re making during the design process without clicking on the preview button. This means jumping back and forth to see what your design changes look like.

Lacks features

Bloom has a lot of visual options, but not as many features or analytical data as some of the other plugins available. And, honestly, we want it all.

Price

Bloom doesn’t offer a free option. It is $89 a year or $249 for a lifetime, but that includes all of the access you need and theme design too. In short, this plugin is the best option for you if you want to use the whole suite of products.

5. Thrive Leads

Thrive Leads is another WordPress plugin created by a theme company, Thrive Themes, which focuses all of its products on conversion. This WordPress plugin has more than 114,000 users for its 10 different opt-in forms.

Pros of Thrive Leads

Design options

As we mentioned above, Thrive Leads has 10 different opt-in forms, including pop-up boxes, sticky ribbons, slide-ins, opt-in widgets, screen overlays, and multiple-choice forms. Whatever type of opt-in you’re seeking, they probably offer it, along with drag-and-drop editing.

Embedded in WordPress

Thrive Leads also works from a custom panel within WordPress, so you don’t have to go back and forth to an external site. 

Advanced targeting

You can provide your visitors with targeted offers, depending on analytics from posts, categories, etc. You also can use A/B testing to determine what campaigns are working best for whom.

Strong analytics

We need that data! Plugin analytics show you how your forms are performing and where your most valuable traffic originates.

Price

You can get the entire Thrive Suite, which gives you access to every Thrive product, including themes and quiz builders, for $19 a month. Once again, this plugin likely benefits you most if you want to use the entire suite of products.

Cons of Thrive Leads

Speed

Some users have complained that Thrive Leads slows down WordPress. Ain’t nobody got time for that!

Ease of use

It’s not the most intuitive plugin to use. Setting it up can be intimidating. You may consider that alone a deal-breaker.

The Best WordPress Popup Plugins for Your WordPress Website

The best WordPress popup plugin for you depends on your site’s goals and exactly what you want to accomplish with the plug-in. There are WordPress popup plugins for every site’s needs and at every price point. You’ll just need to hire a great WordPress developer or designer to get the job done right. Hopefully, our recommendations help. Still not sure about how to help your readers convert? Contact us! We specialize in website design, SEO, and more, so we know how to help.